Figures from across the financial industry have offered tributes to the kindness, wit and encyclopaedic knowledge of Helen Pridham, whose work as both a journalist and founder of The Pridham Report has inspired and informed countless investors over her career.

Initially titled the Fund Sales Report on its 1997 launch, the publication quickly took on its founder's name after becoming one of the most anticipated releases each quarter and remains so to this day.

A friend, mentor and inspiration to so many across the industry, Pridham will be sorely missed, and we offer our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

With so many people wishing to pay tribute to Pridham, who died on 25 April 2022, we would like to offer this space to those who knew her best.

 

Paula Pridham: Helen did not expect to have the career that she did - initially starting her working life as a secretary at the BBC, she changed her mind and decided to study economics at UCL, starting a family tradition with her former husband and two of her three daughters also studying at this great university.

Helen was a trailblazer, going freelance in the early 80s in order to flex her impressive career around raising three young children.

She wrote on a freelance basis, primarily about consumer finance, pensions and investment funds, including a number of regular columns over the years. She wrote for The Observer, The Sunday Times, The Times and Money Observer as well as authoring a number of books. Helen founded the popular industry publication "The Pridham Report" in 1997, although its initial catchy title was "Fund Sales Report", which came to be known by the industry as "The Pridham Report", and so this was adopted as its formal name.

Helen was as successful and active in her personal life as she was in her career, having numerous hobbies including walking, Scottish dancing and drinking red wine, to name a few. She will be missed by those in the industry and, of course, deeply missed by her family and friends.

She leaves as her legacy to the industry, The Pridham Report, which is still going strong and will continue to honour her memory for many years to come.

 

Daniel Godfrey: Helen Pridham made a real difference. Knowledgeable, incisive and witty, Helen also wrote with a beautiful simplicity.

The Pridham Report is an institution in asset management. I think she'd be proudest that her work in making personal finance simple and championing women was a real pathfinder and inspiration for so many.

My fondest recollection is of sitting outside a pub with Helen chewing the fat, putting the world to rights and getting every idea remorselessly challenged until it actually made sense.

Thanks for your time, Helen, and much love to all your loved ones. You will be missed so very much.

 

Georgette Harrison: Helen became a dear friend over the many years that I knew her; her kindness, enthusiasm for a whole range of interests and sense of fun always shone through. She was passionate about her writing and spreading the word about investments - a joy to work with although no pushover!

She was a credit to our industry and I, along with many others, will miss her dearly.

 

Annabel Brodie-Smith: Helen was an excellent journalist who won the AIC's Media Award for Freelance Journalists numerous times.

Helen always asked astute questions and got to the heart of the story. Her pieces were insightful, interesting and full of personality.

Helen was warm, fun and always had time for a chat.  She loved socialising and regularly attended the AIC summer party and events.

Helen will be remembered very fondly, and we will miss her.

 

Jemma Jackson: Helen was a wonderful journalist, businesswoman and mentor, who I was lucky enough to know for over twenty years.

A stickler for detail, she knew the funds industry better than anyone, and it's fitting that her ‘Fund Sales Report' quickly became ubiquitously known as The Pridham Report. Her award-winning investment trust encyclopaedic Knowledge was always fun to pit my knowledge against.

Even more fun was talking to Helen about everything else - she was so kind, with a genuine interest in people and a twinkle in her eye. I'll remember her for her smile, her kindness, her steely core and her fantastic journalism skills.

She's helped tens of thousands of private investors over the years, not least interactive investor customers: her regular income pieces had a loyal and popular following. She is sorely missed.

 

Rob Reid: When your job entails meeting new people most weeks, you begin to become more and more careful who you engage with.

My eldest was in the same class as Helen's youngest both at Primary and Grammar School, I first met Helen in the Primary School playground in 1996. She and I stood alone instead of chatting in the large groups of other parents. I once suggested we had given each other sanctuary!

Many conversations followed and I became a regular supplier of quotes when she filed for the Times/The Herald and Investors Chronicle to name but three.

She often passed my details to friends who needed an IFA, and all are clients to this day.

She was a lovely person who always was ready to help. She was sharp intelligent and superb company - I shall always miss her. She was a true friend. RIP Helen.

 

Vee Montebello: I've known Helen since I started in PR in the 1990s. She was one of the nicest people to work with - fun, honest, fair but always a professional who put the needs of her readers first.

Through her great work on The Pridham Report she became one of the investment management industry's most knowledgeable experts. Everyone respected her work and wanted to engage with her.

Personally I, like many others in our industry, will miss her infectious laugh and her friendship.